


Communication

by Debi_C



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 08:28:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lost City.  I had to fix it. I wasn't sure what would happen the next season so I did it myself. Heavy spoilers for The Lost City. Some discussion of ASCENSION and DEATH of Characters that has already occurred in canon. Sam is season 6 and 7 Sam...changed a bit by TPTB to the new and bitchier version.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Communication

It came to him in a dream. He had seen the symbols on the wall that was close to Jack's stasis chamber. They had been obscured by the ice, though he must have noticed them subconsciously or he couldn't have dreamed about them. He hadn't read them at the time. His mind had been in turmoil, watching Jack's single-minded actions as he had saved the world again. He remembered Jack's words from an earlier time of triumph. "This should not get old, General." 

But this time, when the battle with Anubis was over, Jack had left the ancient control chair and moved like a sleepwalker to the chamber where he had voluntarily committed himself to the stasis field. He, Sam and Teal'c had watched in dismay and helplessness as O'Neill had cut himself off from them. His last words had echoed in Daniel's head every night since it had happened. "Aveo Amacus." 

Sam had approached the cylinder, but by then it was too late. Jack was gone from them, lost in the frozen empty forever of the Ancient's stasis chamber. 

Later, she had questioned him about the meaning of those words. The linguist part of himself had choked out the literal translation of 'Farewell Friends' to her. But he hadn't given her the complete meaning. Because he knew that the words had been meant for him alone. Farewell, my friend. 

Teal'c, having more experience with the Ancient's tongue, had understood the inflection. The warrior had stood silently by Daniel's side. His spirit and blood had cried out for O'Neill, but he couldn't do anything either. None of them could. Not the Soldier, not the Scientist, not even the Scholar could do anything to aid their leader. They had all been helpless. 

The ensuing time had warped itself around them as they had been forced to return to the Teltac due to lack of protection from the cold. They had rendezvoused with the Prometheus, flown back to Cheyenne Mountain, and then debriefed Doctor Weir, Major General Hammond and President Hayes. Anubis was finally dead, the threat to Earth from the Goa'uld forestalled, the knowledge of the Ancients was safe and Jack...well, Jack was still in Antarctica, trapped behind the icy crystal wall of the stasis chamber. He was a casualty of war, just one more loss in a field of thousands from the Naval and Air fleets. 

Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c knew he was still there, waiting; but they were unsure of what Jack was waiting for. Did he need the Asgard's assistance like the time before? Would it take the intervention of the surviving Ancients to save him? Or, was he truly lost to them this time? Was he destined to be imprisoned forever in a mind that contained too much knowledge for him to process? How ironic that he, Jack O'Neill self-styled common man of an ordinary mind, who had often declared his team members to be 'way smarter than he was', had been the one chosen to be the receptacle of the sum total of all the remaining knowledge of the Ancients. 

Daniel had tried to intervene, had even attempted to be the one used by the Ancient Depository's memory link to receive the needed information. But Jack had jerked him away and then had forcibly explained to the younger man that he needed Daniel to be there to translate for him. Jack had needed him to be there as he had made the sacrifice. "Who do you think is going to translate when you start going Ancient on us?", the Colonel had demanded. Then, it had been done. It was irresolvable and irretrievably too late; too late for Jack, too late for them. 

That last night, as they lay together in Jack's bed, Daniel had come to understand that his lover was once again protecting him from the unknown. Just as he had always done except for that one time on Kelowna and that Jack would not allow him to be hurt again...even to save the world. 

And so they had loved each other as much and as hard as they could, but it had not been enough. It would have never been enough. The next day, they had gone on their mission and saved the planet. But, Jack had stayed behind, trapped in his icy sepulcher as surely as Tutankhamun in his golden sarcophagus. But Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld, could not come for him. Anubis was dead. 

Then, as time passed through many empty nights in his lonely bed, Daniel had dreamed. However, his images were not of Anubis, the god of the dead, nor of Osiris, the god of rebirth. There were no fantasies of the Asgard nor of the Nox. These visions were of flying, soaring through the star fields, remembrances of a life where he had traveled as an incandescent being of white light. They were of a time where he could see and do and comprehend many things. Things that included an archaic written language, one that he could read and understand...the words of the Ancients. And as he experienced these recollections, the meanings of these words came to him as he slept, dreaming the dreams of his lost love...and dreaming of words written on a wall of ice. 

And on this morning, when Daniel awoke, he knew that he had to go to Antarctica to free Jack from his prison. He also knew how to do it. 

The first thing he'd done when he awoke was to jot down his notes on the yellow legal pad that he kept by his bed. Words like sleep, rest, heal, awake, activate, reborn, reanimate, ascend. It was all there. It had been lurking in his unconscious mind since his return, taking its own sweet time to announce itself to him. 

He had to tell Teal's. He had to convince Sam. He had to persuade Weir. He had to go to McMurdo. It was time, time to bring his heart back to them. It was time to get Jack. 

\------- 

The next morning found him at a hastily called briefing with the rest of SG-1 and Doctor Weir. They were all looking at him in astounded disbelief. He wasn't surprised. 

Doctor Weir spoke first. "Let me get this straight, Doctor Jackson. You think you know how to release Colonel O'Neill from his stasis chamber and you want to go to McMurdo right now." She looked from him to his teammates as if wanting an excuse for his outlandish behavior. 

"Yes, Doctor Weir, the sooner the better." He nodded adamantly. 

The other two members of SG-1 looked at him. "But Daniel, where did you get this knowledge from? I mean, it's just a little...sudden." Sam asked, concern coloring her voice. "I've been working on a way to free the Colonel for weeks and I've got nothing. Now you suddenly wake up one morning and say that you know how. How is this possible?" 

"Sam, I saw it in my dream. It's right there, written on the wall by the stasis chamber." He shook his head. "I didn't realize that the instructions were there all the time." He gazed around the table, and shook his head. "I feel so stupid." 

"But, you realize it now?" Doctor Weir commented frowning at him. She still hadn't figured the man out. It bothered her. 

"Well, as Sam and Teal'c can tell you, my memory has been returning slowly by increments since I was left on Viz Uban." Daniel looked from her to his teammates. "Sometimes it takes a trigger mechanism for me to remember. Sometimes it comes to me in a dream." 

"So, you dreamed about the chamber and you saw the writing on the wall? Then, you translated it?" 

"Yes," he answered almost defiantly. "I remembered it in a dream." 

Teal'c spoke up. "Danieljackson also remembered seeing Master Bra'tac and my son Ry'ac in a dream, during Kelnoreem, when they were being held as slaves on the mining planet, Erebus." 

"During uh, kelnoreem...meditation? So you've done this before?" Doctor Weir still looked dubious. 

Daniel was growing frustrated. "Yes! Yes, I have." 

"Some of Daniel's most brilliant accomplishments have been after an epiphany." Carter put in, glancing at her friend's earnest face. "It's the way his mind works. We can't explain it..." she smiled over at her friend's indignant expression, "but he hasn't failed us yet." 

Weir shook her head as the two other members of SG-1s came to the defense of their teammate. She sighed. "Very well then. If you think that you can cure Colonel O'Neill...." 

"Well, it won't actually cure him." Daniel tried to explain. He had to make himself clear. "But it will awaken him and we can begin his recovery." 

"Well, yes, of course." Weir nodded soothingly. "I understand that he'll still be stressed...." 

"Actually, he'll still retain the memories of the Ancient's database. We'll have to help him through the adjustment." 

She nodded her understanding. There were no miracles here yet, just a rescue attempt. "But he can do that here?" 

"Yes, with our help." Of that he was sure. 

"Well, then." Doctor Weir looked at the three earnest expressions in front of her and nodded. "What are we waiting for? Go and get him." 

Carter nodded, flashing a smile at Daniel. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you." 

\------- 

As they entered the Chamber of the Ancients, SG-1 had to clear through two sets of Security Forces and then be met by SG-13 who had taken over the study of the Chamber. Daniel was pleased to see that Doctor Weir had taken Jack's predicament seriously and was providing proper security for the trapped man. 

It was also a blessing and a curse. What he would need to do screamed for privacy, privacy that he would have to convince everyone else to honor. 

"Hello, Doctor Jackson." Vince Balinsky greeted him. He was the civilian Archaeologist of SG-13. Daniel knew of him by reputation and personally since his de-ascension. He'd been one of several who had been hired to fill his position when Daniel was "amongst the glowy folks" as Jack had said. "Sort of a rich man's Daniel Jackson...young and geeky." Jack had pronounced at their introduction. Since their meeting, they had been friendly but still didn't know each other well. 

Colonel Dixon joined the group and nodded hello to Carter, Jackson and Teal'c. "I was surprised when I got Doctor Weir's message that you were flying in, Major Carter. I have nothing new to report." 

"We're not here to study the chamber, Colonel." Daniel nodded towards the stasis chamber. "We're here to bring Jack home." He crossed the room to stand in front of the frozen mist-like surface of the chamber. He could just barely see the face of Jack O'Neill as he gazed unchangingly out from behind the frosty layer. 

Balinsky looked puzzled as he followed Jackson to stand beside him. "But, we were told that he was unreachable in his present condition. That we had to wait...." 

"Well, the waiting is over." Daniel said firmly, reaching out to touch the barrier between Jack and himself. 

"We have reason to believe that the instructions for the stasis cubicle are here and Daniel just has to translate them so we can take proper actions." Carter cut into the conversation, looking at SG-13s team chief. 

"Here?" Balinsky looked confused. "I see nothing here that could do that." He waved his arms around. "What few markings that are here seem to be more riddles than instructions." 

"Danieljackson excels in riddles." Teal'c commented as he watched his youngest teammate move away from their entombed team leader towards a nearby wall. "He has solved many of them through his knowledge, skill, perseverance and luck." 

"There is no such thing as luck." Colonel Dixon stated resolutely. 

"Then you are working for the wrong command, Sir." Carter said with a poorly disguised grin. "Colonel O'Neill always said it was the first thing he put in his pack." 

"It didn't serve him very well, now did it?" Dixon commented sadly, watching Daniel at the chamber's opening. 

"On the contrary, we are attempting to free a living man, one with much luck." Teal'c stated calmly. "If he had none he would be dead by now." 

Daniel had been looking closely at the wall, feeling the partially iced over carvings with his sensitive fingertips. Finally satisfied, he turned and looked to Sam. Teal'c and Darby. "I need everyone to leave the room." 

Belinsky shook his head. "This room is never left without the security guards, you know that, Daniel." 

"I need you to leave." He bit out the sentence, then turned to look at Carter and Dixon. "SG-1 can stay, but I need the rest of you to go...now...please." He gazed at O'Neill's form through the transparency reaching out to touch the surface. 

Major Carter looked from Daniel's determined expression to SG-13s military team leader. She nodded and spoke. "I'll take responsibility, Colonel. Doctor Weir authorized this attempt. Go ahead and get your men out of here." 

Dixon frowned and nodded to the rest of his team. Wells and Bosworth lay down their equipment and started to file out of the room. The Security Force personnel looked nervously at the two team chiefs. "Major, we have to stay." Staff Sergeant Dundee said to her. 

"Not if I give you a direct order, Sergeant." Sam looked at him. "Go ahead, and log my orders relieving you of responsibility." 

The SF nodded. He'd log the order certainly. It would get him off the hook if something bad happened...the way it looked like it was going to. 

Dundee gave her one last look then glanced over to where Jackson was standing. 

She shrugged and gave Colonel Dixon and Doctor Belinsky a small smile. She had faith that Daniel knew what he was doing. 

The Colonel nodded at her skeptically, and finally left, waving the others out in front of him. The SFs left, uncaring of the miracles that Daniel had made in the past, relieved only that whatever happened wouldn't be their responsibility at this point. 

Teal'c followed the others as they exited the room and closed the door behind them. Glancing around he crossed to the area closest to the chamber where he removed his pack and the sleeping bag from within it. He then spread it on the floor in preparation of its use as a bed for their leader. 

Sam had approached Daniel as he continued to read the markings on the wall. He was murmuring to himself as he worked, reaching out to brush the concealing ice from the surface. That touching system of his had always made the Colonel crazy when he'd done that. Maybe now it would save O'Neill's life. Finally, the linguist turned and looked at her. "I'm going to need your help, Sam." 

"Of course, what do I need to do?" She nodded, watching him intently. 

Daniel nodded at her then spoke. "According to this inscription, when we're prepared, I'm going to release him from the stasis field. Then I'm going to have to stimulate his five senses. I have to make him use his smell, hearing, touch, vision and taste again. When he begins to regain consciousness, I will have to convince him to accept his life back, help him to ascend or allow him to die." He looked at her. "I don't think that will be an issue, but I have to accept that possibility." 

"What about the knowledge of the Ancients that he carries? Will he lose it?" 

He shook his head. "No, not this time...I can't download it from his brain like the Asgard did. He'll have to accept its burden or die." He looked unconcerned. "He will have to learn English again, but that won't be a problem." 

"Will he remember us?" Sam asked worriedly as she looked at the familiar form behind the barrier. 

"Yes, he knew us when he went in. It's just the language comprehension portion of his mind that was rewritten with the knowledge of the Ancients. That was so that he could access the data successfully. There was no actual damage done to his brain, it was just reprogrammed. Everything else should remain the same." 

She nodded, and took a deep breath. "So, what do you want me to do?" 

"You and Teal'c will have to help me release him from the stasis chamber." He looked at her steadily. "Then...well, I suppose you'll have to forget everything you see after that." 

"What? Why?" Sam wasn't sure she understood what he meant. 

Teal'c had come to them, having secured the door and prepared the bedroll. He nodded his acceptance of the need for confidentiality. He turned to Carter. "Because, Samantha, you will see some things that you will have difficulty accepting." He then looked at Daniel. "I am ready to assist in whatever capacity you require." 

"Thank you, my friend." Daniel nodded, relieved that Teal'c had figured out his unspoken truth and then accepted what he would have to do. He only hoped that Sam could understand, and that their friendship would survive it. He nodded to Teal'c who took his place on one side of the chamber. Daniel directed Sam's attention to a series of symbols etched into the wall. "See these?" 

She nodded comprehending his request. "You want me to activate them?" 

"Yes," Daniel nodded and pressed the first one. As his fingers made contact with the carved icon it began to glow. "Finish the series." He instructed her as he stepped away to his position across from the Jaffa. "Teal'c and I will have to catch Jack. He's still going to be in a comatose state." 

"Then what?" She asked worriedly glancing from him to Teal'c and then finally to the trapped O'Neill. 

"Then...then it will be up to me to wake him up." Daniel said with soft intensity. 

"You? Why you?" She asked pointedly, suspicious but not comprehending his reason. 

Daniel wasn't sure how to answer her. He could only look at her mutely. She still didn't understand. 

Teal'c replied for him. "Because Samantha, as O'Neill is Daniel's heart, Daniel is O'Neill's soul. It is his place to do this, not ours." 

She stared at the two men in vexation. "His soul? I don't understand." 

The warrior only nodded. "You will." 

Unable to continue with the conversation, Daniel crossed to the bedroll and unstrapped his combat knife. He laid the weapon next to the pallet on the icy floor in preparation. He then crossed the room to stand by the warrior at the chamber's opening. He looked to Teal'c. "It's time. Let's do it." 

Teal'c nodded. "Good luck, my friend. Bring him back to us, or go with him in peace." 

"Thank you, Teal'c. I will." He turned to look at Carter and spoke. "Sam, press the icons." 

"Daniel, I still don't...." 

"Press the icons, Sam, or Jack will die where he is. Now do it!" 

Chapter 2  
The younger man's tone of determined insistence finally reached her. Sam turned and continued the sequence on the remaining four symbols. She didn't understand what was going on and she didn't like mysteries but she trusted Daniel to know what to do. 

When the final character was pressed and all five inscriptions were activated, the stasis chamber began to glow from within. Backlit with luminescence, Jack's frozen form was in stark relief as the transparent barrier slowly melted away releasing him from its icy grip. 

As the support dissipated, the Colonel's frozen body began to sway in his niche. Slowly he began to topple forward. Daniel and Teal'c caught him between them. They gently, carefully, embraced him, and then lifted the still stiff body carrying him to the waiting pallet of the sleeping bag. Then Teal'c stood back to give the younger man full access. 

Daniel knelt beside the unconscious man. The instructions he had rediscovered on the wall had been unmistakable, just as he had remembered it in his dream. To resurrect Jack, once he had been released from the chamber, he would have to accelerate Jack's brain functions. He had to arouse Jack's five senses to reanimate him. He only knew of one way to do that, and that could possibly cost he and Jack their team and their life's work. There was also the question if Jack could accept all that his awakening entailed. 

From Carter's point of view, Daniel seemed to be hesitating. She still didn't know what exactly was going to happen but she knew that it had to happen soon or without the stasis field the Colonel would die. 

She started to step forward, but Teal'cs large warm hand caught her arm and restrained her. "No, Samantha. They must do this themselves, O'Neill must find his way back to us and Danieljackson is the only path for him. 

"I don't understand," she said in confusion. "Stop talking in riddles." 

"Watch," He intoned. "and listen. You will understand." 

From his kneeling position on the floor, Daniel took a deep breath and began. The first sense, smell, should be the easiest and the most basic to restore. He quickly bent over the still form to start mouth to mouth resuscitation. His lips fit perfectly over Jack's just as he had remembered. The lax mouth opened easily to him and he blew the breath of life into the comatose man. Jack's still chest expanded once, twice, three times and then he began to breathe in unison with Daniel. Encouraged by the response, Daniel allowed himself the benefit of a caress. After Daniel kissed him, Jack drew in a deep, strong breath, taking the air from the younger man. The sense of smell was now functional as the unconscious man instinctively drank in the other's aroma. 

Then, Daniel started working on the senses of touch and hearing. He began to stroke Jack's face, to bring tactile sensation to the sleeping nerves. He used his hands to roam desperately and intimately over the still form. He pulled the BDU shirt open and the black tee shirt up to stroke and massage the flat belly and to knead the muscular chest. He passed his hands intimately over well-known erogenous zones, the nipples, and the ribs; down his hips and across the lax, cloth-covered genitals. He leaned down further to rub his hands down the long legs. The body flexed in response to his pressure. He pressed harder as he worked his way back up the lean form, stroking and coercing the well-known body. Feel me, hear me, know me, want me as I want you, need this as you are needed. Reaching Jack's face again, he stroked the slightly open mouth first with his hands then with another gentle, insistent kiss. Daniel heard Carter's gasp in the background, but he didn't care...this was much more important than her moral sensibilities. 

All this time, he'd been murmuring Jack's name. Calling to him to hear, encouraging him to listen to him, return to them, challenging him to fight and begging him to respond. He called Jack's name and invoked their shared memories. Their first meeting at the SGC, their maiden trip through the Stargate, Abydos, Ra, 'remember we went through together, remember.' Daniel begged, pleaded and wheedled, saying anything he could think of to invoke a response. Finally, there was a slight independent movement, Jack's head turned slightly, and he sighed. 

Next, Daniel moved to the now closed eyelids and to the sense of sight. Though Jack had gone into his trance with his eyes wide open, they were closed now as if he were sleeping. Daniel knew the brown eyes needed to heal, to rest from the freezing temperature of the chamber. But now, he stroked the lids ever so lightly with his fingertips, concentrating all his energy into the healing touch. He could feel the REM under the eyelids with the tips of his fingers. He bent to kiss the closed eyes, to rejoice in their motion, to encourage their reawakening. 

Then came the final task, the sense of taste. The text had spoken of the fluid of life. That term had many meaning to many different folk. Daniel could only guess which one it meant, but he knew that if he guessed wrong the penalty would be too high. Picking up the waiting knife, he turned the point into his wrist cutting across the veins. The warm red blood welled up from the incision. The pain was a small sacrifice to the altar of his love for Jack. 

Again, he vaguely heard Sam's words of protest and movement behind him, as if someone had started to interrupt them but been stopped. He turned his wrist over and held it dripping over Jack's slightly parted lips, allowing the bleeding wound to trickle slowly into his mouth. After awhile, the red flow stopped, the blood coagulating at the source. 

Nothing seemed to happen. 

Daniel sat on his knees awaiting a change. It didn't come. Jack was still unresponsive. He breathed, and moved but he did not live. Something had gone wrong. Either Daniel had mistranslated, or Jack did not want to return to them. 

"Jack! Please, Jack." Daniel spoke to him again, imploring him. "Please come back to me." He bent over the other man again, stroking his face, calling his name. "Jack; don't leave me here like this." He begged the sleeper. "I don't want to be alone again. I need you." 

"Danieljackson," it was Teal'c. "I believe that you have made an error in your translation." 

He looked up to the face of his friend. "What? No, no I don't think so...it said...the fluid of life." Daniel shook his head sadly, trying to blink back the burning sensation of tears in his eyes. He knew that he had failed both his friend and himself. He felt around blindly for the knife that he knew was lying on the floor where he had dropped it. "The fluid of life is blood...and it didn't work." He shook his head, looking down at Jack's too still form. "He's dying...and it's my fault." 

"No, Danieljackson, it says the fluid of love." A warm hand rested on his shoulder. "Give him you tears." 

"What?" He didn't understand. He rubbed his face with his free, unbloodied hand. It came away wet with tears. 

"Give him your tears. They are what he needs." The steady voice droned in his head unbidden. "He does not want your death." Daniel felt Teal'c take the knife from his hands. "O'Neill would want you both to live." 

Speechless, he nodded and wiped his eyes again. He then tried to gather as much of the moisture on his fingers. He reached down and lay them across Jack's mouth. This time the pale lips moved in response to accept the proper offering, suckling the fingertips gently into his mouth, where he drank in the moisture from off them. Then, ever so slowly, the eyelids opened to look and there was a spirit behind them. 

"Jack! Jack? Can you hear me?" Daniel slid his hand free and kissed the awakening man. "Jack, can you understand me?" 

Jack blinked his eyes and turned his head slightly to look directly at the younger man, his lips forming the words. 

"Daniel? Amacuse? " 

"Si, amacuse...amorato mi. Amacuse." He answered Jack in a rough voice. 

"Mi amarato, venitemos." There was still no sound, but his answer was there on Jack's lips. 

"Yes, yes, we came back." Daniel picked up a lax hand and brought it too his face. 

Jack must have felt the residual dampness. "Doloramus?" 

"No, not now." Daniel shook his head, watching Jack move, his voice catching in his throat. 

"Benite." Jack nodded slightly then closed his eyes. 

"Jack, listen to me, Veni Colorado?" 

The brown eyes fluttered open again to meet his. " Benite." Then Jack's eyelids slowly slid down again, but it was in the softness of sleep, not the stillness of death. 

Teal'c had returned to stand at Sam's side. She looked from the two men in front of them to him in wonder. "What just happened?" 

Teal'c turned and smiled ever so slightly at her. "He has returned to us. Danieljackson has succeeded in his task." 

"But how? I mean I know how, but I don't know what happened." 

"I do not know either, exactly, let it suffice to say that O'Neill returned to the person most important to him." He nodded towards the two men on the floor in front of them. Jack was still lying on the rolled out sleeping bag while Daniel sat cross-legged next to him stroking his forehead with a gentle hand. 

"But, I thought...." Sam started, then stopped. 

"No, Samantha, you knew. You have known for a long time. You just would not accept it." He indicated the pair. "Now, you must." 

"But...they can't...it's illegal. They can't do this." She protested, looking up at her friend. 

"And will you speak of this forbidden thing to Doctor Warner, or General Hammond, or Doctor Weir now that you have seen their truth? Will you tell their secret and betray our friends to shame?" 

She looked at the two men, her teammates, Jack and Daniel. They had something together that she wanted. Yes, she was envious. She wanted this relationship with the Colonel. But, now, it could never be. She could see now that it would have been at too high a cost. She couldn't have performed this piece of magic, nor would she have turned to the knife at failure as the man kneeling on the floor had started to do. She didn't love Jack O'Neill that much. She doubted that she could ever love anyone like that...but quite obviously Daniel did. She could destroy them if she was that petty, or she could love and support them as she had for years. It wasn't a hard decision. "No, I won't say anything to anyone." She looked up at Teal'c. "I'm not that weak am I?" 

The big man only smiled and nodded. "I knew it, but I wasn't sure that you did. 

"So, what now?" Carter looked at her teammate. 

"Now? Now, we go home." 

\------- 

Their return to the SGC was both exhilarating and anticlimactic. General Hammond had stayed an extra day to see the results of the rescue attempt. He and Doctor Weir were waiting for them at the landing pad on top of Cheyenne Mountain. As they offloaded the stretcher from the helicopter that had carried the sleeping Colonel O'Neill, Hammond had turned to Weir with a smile and a nod as if they had vindicated something for him. 

The ambulance had taken O'Neill and whisked him down the steep road to the entrance to NORAD and then the SGC clinic. The ride down for the other members of SG-1 had been slower in the panel van and it had been a very quiet affair. Daniel was sitting quietly, looking distracted in one of the van's crew seats; Teal'c was his usual taciturn self and Carter looked as if she were uncomfortable to be there with her friends. 

Once they entered the complex, they were immediately taken to the infirmary for a post mission exam. Daniel moved himself to argue that they hadn't gone off world and it was a waste of time. But, Doctor Warner, taking one look at the laceration on his wrist had held them to all protocols. After treating the injury and reviewing their test results, he finally cleared them without incident as if he agreed with their assessment of the situation. 

Afterwards they went to the Command briefing room. Doctor Weir and General Hammond were already in place and waiting for them. The woman smiled at the three teammates. "So, your trip was a success?" 

Carter, as acting team chief, nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. As far as it's gone. The Colonel regained consciousness for a few minutes, but was still unable to speak any English." She glanced at Daniel. "He spoke a few words to Daniel, but it was in Ancient." 

General Hammond nodded. "But he recognized you? Knew who you were?" 

"Ah, yes. He knew me." Daniel answered his two Commanders. "I explained as best I could that we'd come for him, to bring him home. He seemed to understand that Anubis was dead and that we're going to help him. He wants to come back. He just doesn't know how." 

"That will have to be up to us to figure out." Doctor Weir nodded. "And we'll have to do just that. We need him, badly." 

Daniel nodded and looked to his two teammates. 

It was Carter spoke for them all, "Yes, Ma'am. We do." 

\------- 

It was evening and Sam Carter knew exactly where to find Daniel. He was in the clinic sitting next to O'Neill's sleeping form. She stepped into the small area and pulled the privacy curtain behind her. Daniel raised his eyes to look into her frown then tracked her gaze to where his hand was joined with Jack's. 

"You know Warner is not going to look the other way while you sit here holding his hand like that." She commented, trying to keep her voice low. 

Her statement surprised him. "What?" 

"Holding his hand." She motioned at them. "You're making it pretty obvious you know." 

"Obvious that I care about my friend and commander?" He shook his head. "Sorry. I don't know what you mean. I do care...." 

"Way more than you're supposed to." She nodded her head. "It's not going to fly, Daniel. Everyone will know." 

"Sam, what's wrong? We've always done this in the clinic. You've held my hand; he's held yours. What can be wrong with it now?" 

"Maybe it's just more obvious now. How you feel about him, I mean." She moved closer. "Daniel this is dangerous. It's...it's crazy?" 

He looked at her in bewilderment. "I don't understand, what's crazy? He's asleep; barely conscious...he's confused, he needs to feel safe, secure. This...this is nothing." 

"I know, Daniel." She frowned. "Daniel, don't do this. Let him go. You'll ruin his career; it will destroy the team." 

"Because I'm holding his hand?" The younger man looked at her in surprise. 

"No, because of your relationship!" She approached him. "Don't you get it? He's an officer in the Air Force. This...this thing, you have for him, it's...dangerous...for both of you. It's illegal!" 

Jack shifted in the bed, moving restlessly, but didn't wake. 

"Sam, you're disturbing him." Daniel tightened his grip on the other man's hand and turned to Jack again, murmuring softly to him that she couldn't hear what he said. Jack settled at the sound of his voice. 

She ignored his warning. "You've got to quit this, it's too public here! Someone else will see." She jumped guiltily as the curtain was pulled back to reveal Major General Hammond. 

Daniel turned calmly to look up at their old commander. 

"Major Carter, Doctor Jackson." He nodded tersely at the two younger people then looked at the woman's tense face. "Look you two, you need to finish this conversation elsewhere. This not the place for it." He glanced at Jackson and how he was gripping O'Neill's hand. He then turned to Carter. "Major, you need to come with me. I'd say Doctor Jackson is doing Jack a lot more good than you are." 

She looked at Hammond in surprise. "But, Sir...." 

"Meet me in your office. We need to discuss something." When he saw a stubborn look cross her face, he frowned and reiterated. "Now, Major. I don't have much time left here...and we need to talk." He nodded at Jackson. "We do too, but it can wait a little bit." 

Daniel nodded. He thought he understood what the General had to say, that it would be what Sam was trying to tell him, but his words wouldn't dissuade him anymore than Sam's had done. The two officers left the cubical and, in doing so, him and Jack alone. Daniel made sure the curtain was closed, then came back to pick up Jack's hand again. He kissed it gently and looked down at the sleeping man. "I'm not giving up on you now, Jack. We're going to face this together. There's nothing they can do to us to make me change now." His partner slept on, a slight smile on his lips. 

Hammond and Carter entered her office and the older man closed and locked the door. She immediately turned to face her old Commanding Officer. "General, I know what you're thinking...it's not that way." 

"Now Major, I think you know me too well to think that old dog is gonna hunt here young lady." He stood looking at her with his arms folded. 

"But, Sir...." 

"You and I both know that the Colonel and Doctor Jackson are very close, have always been. " 

Carter nodded dumbly, not wanting to say anything to give her friends away. 

"We also know that both of them have been the foundation for this command, right" 

She nodded again. 

"That they've saved this world and not a few others and we owe them a hell of a lot." 

"Yes, Sir." 

"Do you think I'm stupid, Major?" 

"Wha...? No Sir, of course not." She stared at him. He knew! He knew everything, but he hadn't acted on that knowledge. He let them go on with whatever their relationship had entailed. She finally nodded. "I, uh, think I understand." 

"I couldn't ask Major, Jack sure the hell won't tell, and Doctor Jackson is a civilian." He looked at her calmly. "I don't want this command to be stripped of its two most valuable assets right when it needs them the most. We barely survived for less than a year without Doctor Jackson. Without both of them, well, I don't even want to think about the consequences." 

"Uh, no Sir." 

"So, Major," he paused and looked at her keenly. "I don't know what you think you want to do, here. But, you need to get you head out of your ass, be a professional, and leave it alone." He frowned at her. "Go find that young policeman of yours and quit acting like a teenaged girl with an unrequited crush, because all you'll wind up doing is hurting two of the finest men I know, your team, and maybe even your career." 

Carter stared at him, gaping like a beached fish, shocked that he would talk to her like that. "I wasn't going to say anything." 

He looked at her sharply, then sighed. "Good." He shook his head. "I had hoped that was true Major, but I wasn't sure that you would have still acted like it." Hammond took a step forward and put his arm around her. "I'm sorry to have to talk to you like that, but I'm leaving tomorrow. I had to get your attention. He's not for you, Sam. If Daniel had not returned from Abydos seven years ago, it wouldn't have mattered, but now, well, he doesn't love you that way," George smiled paternally at her. "and you damn well know it." 

Embarrassed, she looked down at the top of her lab table. "Yes, Sir. I guess I always had thought about it, and then when I saw him kiss that other Sam Carter...." 

"Samantha, he was being nice to her, just like he's nice to you. He does care, just not like that." He looked at her searchingly. "Got it?" 

"Yeah, I do now." She looked at her father's old friend. "Thank you." 

"I've got to go and see my family; to be sure they're all right. You need to go and call Cassie." He nodded sagely. "Just leave it alone, okay. Let them be. You'll all be the happier for it." 

She sighed and nodded. "Yes, Sir." 

He smiled at her. "Did I ever tell you that you remind me of your mother?" 

She smiled back. "No, I guess not." 

"Well, you do, except for your stubborn streak...that's all Jacob Carter." 

She sighed and looked at her old commander. "I'm afraid for them." 

Hammond nodded. "I am too, but then, everything they do is dangerous. You don't think that's going to stop them, do you?" 

She shook her head. "No, I guess not. If I didn't know that before, I do now." 

Hammond pulled out a work stool and sat down on it. "Jack is going to need all of his friends now. He's got to work this out. None of us can do it for him, but we shouldn't be taking his main support away from him because of who we think he should be with, or not be with." He looked at her. "Don't you agree?" 

"Yes, Sir, I do." She replied staunchly. "I...I was just surprised, I guess." 

"Yeah, well, I once thought that nothing could surprise me any more, but I was wrong." He shook his head with a thoughtful smile. "Just accept the surprises life gives you, 'cause take it from me, you sure can't change them." 

Chapter 3  
After Sam left with the General, Daniel had a short time of peace with Jack. He sat quietly at the bedside, not really thinking, just holding the other man's hand and enjoying the feel of their connection. But soon, Doctor Warner entered the room with a male nurse. He watched for a moment, noting the exhausted looking, younger man's condition. 

"Doctor Jackson, we need to tend to Colonel O'Neill. Would you excuse us for a while so we can get him cleaned up and run some tests?" 

Daniel took a deep breath and looked at Jack. He had slipped back into a deep dreamless sleep; at least he hoped it was dreamless, for Jack's sake. 

"Doctor Jackson...." 

"Yes, Doctor Warner, I know...why don't I go and rest or get something to eat." He looked up at the physician. "I'll be back. What? Thirty minutes?" 

Warner pursed his lips and nodded. "Give us an hour minimum." The older man replied absently. "They're serving lunch now in the dining room. You look like you need it." 

"Thirty minutes?" At the lack of response from the physician, he gave up the argument. A meal, a shower and a quick nap did sound good. Daniel stood up and stretched. "See you then." The nurse nodded at Daniel as he left. Warner had already started his exam of Jack and ignored him, underscoring his insistence. 

As Daniel exited the infirmary, he nodded absentmindedly to several personnel that were walking down the hall. Some of their faces looked familiar but he couldn't put names to them, some of them he didn't know at all. There were so many new people here; more teams, more technicians, even more civilian scientists. The Command had grown in the year of his absence and was continuing to do so. Did these people even care what had happened to Jack? Did they even know who he was or was he just the 'Colonel' to them, just a title on a door? 

As if in answer to his questions, he saw Siler coming down the hallway carrying his ever-present toolbox with him. "Hi Doctor Jackson. How's the Colonel doing?" 

"Doctor Warner's with him now." He shrugged. "He's been conscious a few times, but he's still only speaking in Ancient." 

"Then, you can understand him?" Siler nodded, knowing that much. "That's good. It's a good thing you're here. That should make it easier on him, right?" At Daniel's nod, Siler shifted the heavy box in his grip. "Gotta go, Sir. MALP # 4 is down and SG-7...." 

Daniel smiled absently and waved him along. "Go ahead. I'm just on my way to the cafeteria. Thanks, Dave." 

"Tell him we all hope he feels better." Then the technician was gone, leaving Daniel standing in the hall. 

He made his way to the commissary still deep in thought. How was Jack really? He had brought him back to the base and Jack certainly knew him, but was he doomed to be trapped in his own mind forever. He tried to remember back the six years to when it had happened before. Jack had said then that the Asgard had told him that the knowledge archive had not been meant for humans. Yet just last year Thor had said that Jack was an advanced specimen and that they had gone so far as to put a marker in his DNA to keep him safe. That was why Loki had taken Jack, to examine him again, to isolate the genetic development that O'Neill had shown. What did it all mean? Why Jack? Why the Ancients? Why him? Was it all interconnected? Was it yet another example of racial cross-pollenization that had come to bite him and Jack in the ass? 

His musings were interrupted by the sight of General Hammond bearing down on him. "Doctor Jackson." 

Daniel waited for the older man, "General, it's good to see you." He looked around to insure they were alone. "I'm sorry about the scene in the clinic. Sam..." 

"Is concerned for both of you, I know." Hammond nodded with a small smile. "She's a smart girl, but I think you surprised her." 

Daniel had the grace to blush slightly. "I'm not sure I understand." 

"Oh, I think you do." The general replied. "While you were...gone...that year...she had a really hard time dealing with your loss. Then, we nearly lost Jack a couple of times. She was on a real emotional roller coaster there for a while. She started relying on Colonel O'Neill a lot." 

"They've always had a bond, General." Daniel said softly. 

"Yes, but in a way, I think she wanted it to be more than that. " He stood silent for a moment. "Maybe her imagination supplied more than was there or Jack might have even encouraged her a little bit. He was pretty needy himself about then." 

Daniel nodded. "Jack is a very warm person to his friends. He certainly wouldn't have offered his home to me when I got back from Abydos if he wasn't a caring man." 

"Sometimes, he cares too much." Hammond looked thoughtfully at the younger man. "I thought we were going to lose him last year too. I think the happiest I've ever seen him has been in the last six months since your return." 

Daniel nodded. He felt he should say something to this man who had become more that a commander to him in the past years, but he also needed to protect Jack. "It's been good...remembering things, learning new things." He looked at the floor not sure how to continue. "I...I've got to get Jack through this, General. I can't leave him...like this." 

"I know son. I understand completely." Hammond reached out to him slowly, as if he thought the younger man would bolt at the contact. He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Look, Daniel, one thing I've learned in my long and checkered career is that there's never enough time for happiness. If you find it, you've got to reach for it; take it, like a prize. It doesn't always come easy, but it will be worth it in the long run." 

Daniel looked at him in surprise. "I...know that, but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying." 

"Oh, I think you do." The older man looked at him with compassion. "Daniel, I've worked hard all my life, putting my career and my job first...putting things off until my retirement. My wife was always there for me waiting patiently...waiting so that we could enjoy each other when we retired, when we had more time, more money...." He sighed then looked at the younger man. "Then she got cancer and she died. We had wasted all those years, waiting. Waiting for time, waiting for later. Don't get me wrong, I loved her a lot and we had a good life but now, I regret every time we weren't together because it seemed the right thing to do for the job. When she died I swore I'd never begrudge anyone the right to spend their time being happy with the one they loved." 

He paused; Daniel stood quietly waiting for him to finish, beginning to understand. 

"Don't waste your time, Daniel. Take what life gives to you and enjoy it. There's never enough love and happiness in this old world and there's never enough time. You've got to take it to have it. Do you understand my meaning?" 

Daniel nodded, and smiled. He understood and he realized what the General was saying to him. "I do. Thank you." 

Hammond looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, son, I've got to go now and get things done. It's been a real honor to serve with you. I hope we can continue to see each other as friends." 

"I'll always consider you as a good friend, General Hammond. You've taught me a lot." 

"Well, heaven knows you've certainly taught me a whole new way of looking at things, Doctor Jackson." Hammond released his shoulder and reached out to take Daniel's hand in a warm grip. "Take care of our boy, Daniel. He needs you, more than you'll ever know...and we need him." 

Daniel nodded. "I'll do my best. I promise." 

Hammond turned to go, and then he looked back over his shoulder at the younger man. "Oh, and don't be too hard on Sam Carter." He smiled. "She's only human you know." 

\------- 

He entered the commissary, not noticing how the others already there watched him get into line. No one spoke to interrupt his thoughts. They parted to give him room as he approached their favorite table with his tray and watched surreptitiously as he sat down. He tiredly began to eat the tuna casserole by rote not even tasting its flavor. The carbs would do him good and that was all he cared about. 

Suddenly a glass of orange juice appeared beside his plate. Daniel looked up to see Teal'c standing beside him holding a tray of food. "Are you well, Danieljackson?" 

The younger man nodded wordlessly. The Jaffa warrior pulled out a chair, sat down beside him, and watched his young friend as he took a few more bites of his food. Then, the blue eyes lifted to meet his dark ones. "I'm fine, Teal'c. Really." 

"O'Neill?" 

"Doctor Warner is with him; they were doing some tests and things." Daniel shrugged. "He told me not to come back for an hour. I thought I'd eat and take a shower." 

Teal'c nodded. "You should rest also." 

"I'll take a nap for thirty minutes." The other man assured him. "But Jack's been coming close to waking up. I need to be there with him." 

"I understand." 

When they had finished their meals, they separated. The warrior went off to his own duties and Daniel headed for the shower area. After a quick clean up, Daniel glanced at his watch. He still had half an hour before Warner would be through. He could catch a brief nap in his office, and though he didn't want to admit it, he needed one. 

\------- 

He awoke to someone earnestly shaking his shoulder. "Daniel! Daniel, wake up! The Colonel's awake and he needs you." 

He opened his eyes blearily. Sam had her hand on him and was trying to break through his stupor. "Huh? What's going on?" 

"Daniel, Colonel O'Neill wants you." She then began tugging on his elbow. 

"What happened? Is something wrong?" Daniel sat up and put his glasses on. 

"He woke up and keeps calling for you." Finally, She released him and sat back on her heels next to the couch. "He was pretty upset when he couldn't find you. Then, when he couldn't communicate with us he started to panic." She brushed her hair back out of her eyes. "Doctor Warner had to restrain him." 

Daniel pushed up off of the couch, and started pulling his boots on. "That will only make him worse! Didn't you tell him that?" 

"Yeah, but I think he's a little afraid of the Colonel." She stood up and waited for him. "He calmed down a little when Teal'c got there, but he needs you to translate for him." 

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He stood up and headed for the door, grabbing his shirt as he passed it on the chair by the door. "I should have been there! Jack hates to be tied up; it will only make him act out worse.": 

"I know, Teal'c was trying to convince them to untie him when I left." 

Running into the clinic, Daniel passed a corpsman nursing an injured wrist. He could hear Jack's upraised voice in the isolation room underscored by Teal'cs calmer sounding intonation. He slammed the door open and entered to see a very agitated Jack O'Neill fighting against leather restraints on his wrists that held him in the hospital bed. The Jaffa was attempting to keep Jack subdued while he struggled, yelling something in ancient. 

Teal'c was trying to communicate with O'Neill in several languages and Warner was complaining loudly to another male nurse who was supporting the doctor and trying to move him towards the door. 

Daniel didn't even slow down but dove immediately into the chaos. He went to Jack's side, grasping him by his shoulders and turning him so he could see his face. "Jack! Calm down! Summisse, Summisse! Ideo veni! 

Finally, the wild dark brown eyes settled on his face and the struggling patient slumped in Teal'cs arms. He tried to reach out to the younger man, but the shackles prevented it. "Daniel, Amacus, ideo necitar locus." 

Daniel took the proffered hand, unbuckled the strap and pulled it to his chest. "Summisse, amorate. Commodo. Securus tu." 

"Ideo securus?" 

"Benite, benite, securus." 

Teal'c relaxed his grip on the now quiet man and Jack slumped back into the bed, breathing heavily. Teal'c released him into the younger man's hands and then stepped back to begin removing the other restraints. The Daniel stepped in next to him still gripping Jack's hand tightly. Jack sighed and closed his eyes in relief inclining himself towards Daniel. "Nullus carcer?" 

'No, nullus no carcer. Gravetus." He tried to reassure Jack. 

"Anubis?" 

"Mortueus." 

Jack nodded in satisfaction, opening his eyes and looking up at his friend. "Mortueus?" Then, at the younger man's nod, he finally relaxed. 

"What did you tell him?" Sam asked as she took her place beside Teal'c." 

"That he's safe and Anubis is dead." He didn't waste any time looking at her. 

"But is he okay?" She pressed. "Is this normal?" 

"Well, I told him that he was sick." Daniel continued to watch his partner, stroking his face, trying to reassure him by touch. "He thought he was a prisoner, he was just trying to get loose. I told him he needs to rest and that Anubis was dead." 

Sam nodded as Teal'c helped Daniel to settle Jack back into the bed, rearranging the covers and pillows to make him more comfortable. Once they had gotten the patient calmed down, Daniel started to talk to him in the language only they shared. 

"Easy, Jack, just take it easy."The younger man murmured in a soothing tone of the ancient language. "You're safe. You're in the clinic 

The Colonel kept his eyes on Daniel as he pushed back to sit up in the bed. "Where's the doc?" 

"Doctor Warner is right there, Jack." Daniel indicated the physician who was talking to the nurse outside the open door, trying to remember enough of the spoken language to convince the confused patient. 

"Where's Fraiser?" O'Neill looked past Warner in expectation. 

"She's not here, Jack. Don't you remember?" Daniel stroked Jack's shoulder with free hand. 

"Oh, my God, I remember. She's dead." Jack bent his head and slid his now free hands behind his neck pulling his knees up and curling into a crouched position. What are we going to do?" 

Daniel sat down on the bed next to him and put his arm around the other man's shoulders. "Yes, Jack, she's gone. But I have you back, now. I need you to stay with me, okay?" 

The older man nodded and finally looked sideways at his companion. "I'm afraid, Daniel." 

"It'll be all right."He pulled O'Neill into a hug. "We've got each other, we'll make it." 

Jack leaned into him, trusting his words. "What's happened to me? You said Anubis is dead?" 

"Yes, you released some kind of weapon from the room in Antarctica. It destroyed his ship and him. You saved Earth again." 

"But, Fraiser said that I couldn't live with the knowledge of the Ancients in my head." He looked up at Daniel. "What's going to happen to me?" 

Daniel spoke softly but with emphasis. "We don't know that. Last time you went to the Asgard and they took the Ancient's knowledge from you. But we didn't understand what was happening to you then. We know more now. Maybe you can keep the knowledge this time." He paused, stroking the silvered head that was resting trustingly on his chest. "We're trying to find Thor, but he hasn't answered our calls yet. But you mustn't panic and you can't give up. We'll find a way, Jack. I know we will." He smiled at the other man, "Don't give up on me,Jack. I didn't come back watch you die, I came back for us to live." 

Jack looked at him in comprehension, then nodded wearily. He lay back and closed his eyes, trusting in Daniel to make it all right. 

\------- 

Carter and Daniel sat together next to Jack's bed, watching him sleep. Sam reached over and laid her hand on her friend's arm. "Daniel..." 

He looked at her, into her eyes, as if daring her to say anything else to him about Jack. 

None the less she took a deep breath, then started. "Daniel, what I said to you earlier... I'm sorry." 

He broke eye contact with her and nodded his head. "Yes, I think you are, but I think you still feel the same way." He paused. "I don't blame you, Sam, but I can't change what I feel either." 

"Well, I may do still feel that way." She looked down at his hand then slid hers down his arm and covered it with her own. "But I also see that it doesn't matter what I want." She took a deep breath. "It matters what he needs, and what you want. I was just surprised, I guess. I was...jealous." 

He looked back at Jack's sleeping face. "It doesn't matter, Sam. It only matters what he needs. He's the important one now." 

"But...if you didn't need it too, this couldn't be happening." Sam shook her head. "I didn't want to understand, Daniel. I only wanted him to want me. I wanted him to need my help, my faith, and my loyalty like he wanted you...but he never did." She curled her fingers into Daniel's hand. "He would never open himself up to me the way he does you. He'd never ask me to do the things that he can ask you for." She looked at him knowingly. "I can't speak twenty-three languages but I know enough Latin to know the words he used were in the masculine gender. 

Daniel looked at her sadly, daring her to say more, then he answered her. "I love him, Sam. I'm sorry, but I can't change that." 

"You came back for him, didn't you?" She asked, acknowledging his feelings. 

He looked at her curiously. "Came back?" 

She smiled at his feigned innocence. "You came back to be with him." She said solemnly. 

Daniel could only shake his head. "I don't know that, Sam. I really don't remember." 

"Daniel," she started then paused a moment, gathering her words. She looked at Jack, peacefully asleep on the pillow, then looked to where their hands were clasped on the bed. "If you really don't remember then let me tell you. He needed you to come back, more than any of us. He said you had come back to help him when you were ascended...in the briefing before Abydos. I've never seen him so animated, so enthused, since you left. He didn't think we would believe him, but just the look on his face was enough to convince me that he'd really seen you." She paused, "Then, on Abydos, when he called, that's when you finally did appear to us. It was because of him, his orders, that you went to try to stop Anubis." 

Daniel only shook his head and repeated. "I don't remember...." 

"But I do." Sam said firmly. "I was there. He told you to cross the line, to use your powers to help win the battle. When Skarra ascended...well, at first you looked scared...then you just looked mad. You made your mind up then to do something." She smiled at the memory. "You said you would protect Abydos." 

Daniel closed his eyes and turned away from her to look down at Jack. "And I failed, Sam. Abydos is destroyed. The people...." 

"The people are ascended." She pushed her advantage. "They are powerful enough now to protect themselves from anything they need to." 

He could only shake his head. "No, I let them down. Their world, their lives, what they were...what they would have been, is all gone." He left the bedside and crossed the narrow space to the next bed. He turned his back to her and wrapped his arms around himself. When he looked up at her there were silent tears in his eyes. Finally he answered her in a rough voice. "I failed there too. My family is gone...just like I was gone for you. Don't you understand? If I did that, if I came back for Jack then I betrayed them. If Jack dies now, everything I did was for nothing. I have killed a whole planet for no reason." 

"Daniel...you didn't! You couldn't!" Sam was shocked at his words. 

"Don't Daniel me, Sam." He rasped out bitterly. "I don't know what I did! Don't you see? I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID!" He shouted the last words at her. "If I killed Abydos so I could come back to be with Jack...then I'm a criminal of the worst degree." 

"I don't believe it! You would never do anything like that!" She protested in a shocked voice. 

But he continued on interrupting her. "Remember, when you found me? You told me that I was a good man. You said that it was worth getting to know me." He glared at her. She nodded in shock. "Well, maybe this is what I didn't want to remember. Maybe this is WHY I couldn't remember!" 

"NO!" Sam raised her voice to match his. "You would not EVER do anything like that. Not for the Colonel, not for Skaara, not for yourself, not for anyone!" She shook her head. "I don't believe it." She stopped herself to take a calming breath then continued. "Daniel you died to protect the Kelownans, people you barely knew. You didn't know that you would be chosen to ascend. It is beyond you to do something like that to the Abydonians; to the people you loved...." She moved closer to him. "I think it's more likely that something else happened up there. That you couldn't win, that something...or someone...prevented you from beating Anubis and saving Abydos." 

He only stared at Jack's bed and the still man that lay there sleeping. On an impulse, Sam crossed over to the younger man and reached out to touch his arms where they crisscrossed tightly on his chest. "I don't believe you failed the Abydonians. I think someone stopped you because you wouldn't have given up. You would have died rather than lose them." 

He tried to turn away from her, his face a mask of bitter emotion, but she reached out and gathered him into her arms. "Oh, Daniel." She crooned. "I know you, I know that you didn't...couldn't... do anything like what you're thinking...and the Colonel wouldn't believe it either." 

He bent to lay his face on her shoulder. She could feel the dampness of his face through her shirt. "I can't lose him, Sam. I don't know what to do." 

She sniffed back her own tears as she rocked him from side to side trying to comfort him like she would a child. "You won't lose him. We can't." She declared sternly. "Jack O'Neill is too stubborn a son-of-a-bitch to give up to some alien language program, Daniel. You know that, and I know that." 

From behind them, a deep gruff voice added to the conversation and a very large strong hand was laid on his shoulder. "As do I, Danieljackson. O'Neill is too mighty a warrior to fall to an enemy like this." 

Together, they looked up to see Teal'c standing close to them and regarding them with his dark serious gaze. Daniel could only nod his hopeful agreement. 

"We must do as we always have done." Teal'c continued. "We must guard him from harm, support his needs and have faith in him." He looked meaningfully at his two younger teammates. "He will not let us down." 

Chapter 4  
Early the next morning, Daniel was sitting beside Jack's bed dozing fitfully. He hadn't managed much sleep that night even though he'd been exhausted by his earlier emotional outburst to Sam. He could only sit and watch Jack through the night, wanting to be there when the other man awoke again to ease his transition back to consciousness. 

He was brought back to alertness by the feeling of movement across his hand. He looked blearily down at the bedclothes to see a calloused finger gently stroking the top of his knuckles. He bent down and was greeted by Jack's shy sleepy smile. It was irresistible. He glanced around the quiet, darkened cubicle, and lifted the questing hand for a quick kiss. "Jack?" He asked in his approximation of the language of the Ancients. 

The dark brown eyes blinked their acknowledgement. "Where?" 

"You're at the clinic at the SGC." Daniel assured him. "You're safe. Anubis is dead. The battle is over." 

"Kicked...ass?" 

Daniel had to smile at the phrase. "Oh yeah! Serious ass...with your big honking space gun." 

"Cool." 

"Very cool indeed." Daniel nodded emphatically. 

The sound of shoes coming to the curtain gave them an instant of warning. Doctor Warner appeared with the sound of the metal rings on the steel runners as the privacy curtain was swept back. "Doctor Jackson? Colonel O'Neill?" 

Two sets of eyes met the physician's questioning ones. Daniel nodded. "He's awake." 

\------- 

Several days later, Jack was released from the clinic into Daniel's care. The Colonel had been MRI-ed, X-Ray-ed, scoped, tested and watched until he had been ready to scream. Finally, Doctor Warner had finally been convinced that his brain wasn't going to explode in front of everyone and he had even allowed him to return to his own home in the evenings with Daniel as escort. 

The big green ford pick up pulled up into its resident driveway. Daniel climbed out of the driver's side and hurried around to the passenger's door to help Jack out of the truck. He then supported his companion up the walkway and into the house. 

Sam and Teal'c had already been there to stock the kitchen for them in preparation of Jack's homecoming. Daniel helped him into the living room and settled him on the couch, handing him the clicker to the TV. He wasn't sure if Jack could even understand the television programs but he figured the familiarity of the actions couldn't hurt. 

After he made sure Jack was comfortably ensconced in his favorite resting-place, he went into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee for himself and start their dinner. After a short while he went back to check on the other man and carrying some soup, sandwiches and coffee on a tray. Jack was lying on the couch, with the throw over his long legs and chest. His eyes were only half-open. 

"Hey," Daniel spoke softly so as to not startle Jack. "You hungry for something other than hospital food?" 

The dark brown eyes opened and a smile appeared. Jack nodded. His comprehension of English had improved, even if his spoken language skills were still in the learning stage. 

Daniel set the tray down and reached a hand over to assist the other man in sitting up. Then he pronounced each word carefully. "Soup, Sandwich, coffee." 

Jack nodded, and then repeated the words slowly and in English. Daniel smiled at him and his partner grinned back. "Men frond is re-remem-bering." 

"That's good." The younger man commented, pleased with Jack's growing ability to communicate. "Maybe it's just a matter of time." 

"Tempus?" 

"Yes, time." He sat on the couch by his lover and clasped his hand. 

Jack brought the hand up for a kiss. "Tempus fugit." He grinned at his own pun. 

"When you're having fun." He returned Jack's grin. They ate together and happily ignored a popular science fiction program as they enjoyed the simple meal and each others company. When they were done, Daniel picked up the debris, put it on the tray and started to go into the kitchen. 

Jack watched him as he gathered the trays and plates. "Pie?" 

Daniel spun around almost knocking the dishes to the floor. "Jack?" 

The older man had a concentrated look on his face as he tried to remember the proper words. He spoke carefully, pronouncing every word carefully. "I want pie." 

He sat the trays down and returned to Jack's side. "Pi?" 

Jack shrugged. "Pie." 

"You mean like 3.140845 pi?" 

"Quis?" The older man looked confused as all hell, then shook his head and continued. 

"Pie...pomum...ap...ple." 

"Pie? You want a pie? A fruit pie...an apple pie?" 

"Beni." Jack nodded. "Apple pie." He smiled broadly then reached to stroke Daniel's cheek. 

Daniel sat down next to his lover, and brought his hand to Jack's mouth, gently laying his index finger on Jack's lips. He smiled gently as his finger was first kissed then sucked into the wet warmth. "Kiss? Jack?" 

"Te amorato." He leaned into Daniel and gently kissed the warm curved lips. "Men amorato eros." 

"I love you too, Jack." The younger man breathed. "I love you, too." 

Jack leaned back and cocked his head to the side. The scarred silver eyebrow lifted perceptibly. "Pie?" 

Daniel laughed softly, pulling back from Jack. "Okay, pie." 

After their desert, Daniel reached down for Jack's hand. When his partner reached back, Daniel took Jack's grasp and pulled him to his feet. Together they went up the stairs to the waiting bedroom. 

Once there, Daniel pulled off his shirt, toed off his shoes and sat down on the bed. He patted the spot next to him. Jack smiled at him and joined him, pushing the younger man back on the bed. He leaned over his lover and kissed him gently on the lips. "Men amorato eros." He murmured as he traced Daniel's face with gentle fingers. "requirere infinitum". 

"Yes, Jack. Forever." 

"Forever." Jack nodded, and then spoke carefully in English. "I need you with me...forever." 

\------- 

It had been two weeks. Two weeks of down time, the first week spent with Daniel at his home, the second spent studying and trying to remember his mother tongue and the various and interesting things a normal Taur'i needs to know to exist on his home planet. 

He'd pretty much gotten the language thing down. He could hold a fairly normal conversation with people who knew him. With his close acquaintances, he was completely understandable with the odd Ancient word appearing only occasionally. Communication with his team was no problem. Teal'c and Carter picked up his meaning from syntax alone. They had both been watching him like he would disappear in a puff of smoke. Not that he blamed them; there for a while his brain had felt like an overblown balloon just waiting to hit a sharp corner. 

And with Daniel, well, he had never needed words to communicate with him anyway. 

But Daniel had spent the eight days of his downtime running back and forth putting himself between Jack and all the pointy objects he could see, locate and imagine. Finally, he'd tried to get the younger man to get some rest before he collapsed from the exertions. That had sparked the closest thing to an argument they'd had during the whole ordeal. He had told Daniel to go home. 

Jack realized what he had done as soon as he had uttered the words. Daniel had been hurt and embarrassed, turning away with a quick flush of pink to his cheeks. It was hard enough for Jack to apologize when he could speak English properly, much less in a mish-mash of Ancient Latin, American Minnasotese and any number of odd words that Jack had picked up in his other few foreign languages. It had come out best in his body language of chasing the younger man down into the kitchen and just holding on for dear life. Jack had felt even more like a fool than normal. He didn't want Daniel to leave; he just wanted to be treated normally again. All Daniel wanted to do was hold him, protect him and love him. It was a desire that Jack was totally in touch with. For Jack it was a memory of an Ascended Daniel, for Daniel it was an Ancientized Jack. These were the things their nightmares were made of. 

The good result of the argument was that he finally got Daniel talking about the emotions he'd been carrying with him ever since Jack had stuck his head into the wall device and downloaded everything again. They spoke at length of the fear that Daniel had for him and the frustration of watching the procedure happen again. Then, afterwards, the really best part was the gentle, tender, make up sex. 

Finally, he had managed to convince his partner to go back to work and let him learn to cope on his own. He'd come a long way and was fairly confident he could manage the mundane pleasures of solitude. Daniel had agreed but he'd returned every evening to spend the night with him. 

The week's experiment in self-sufficiency had been a success. So much so, he'd put on his clothes, drove to the mountain and pretended it was just another day. Here he was showing his ID card to the SF at the elevator that led down to the SGC and the good Doctor Warner's lair for his final clearance. He knew he'd have to face Warner and then Weir before being able to resume his duties. Jack was confident that he could do that without too much trouble. 

The Security Airman cleared him for descent, but before he could engage the lift's car the sound of running footsteps echoed down the hall. O'Neill nodded to the in guard and the airman held the elevator for the new arrival. 

A youngish man wearing a civilian suit and tie stepped breathlessly into the elevator. As he slowed down to a walk, he was obviously limping. Flashing a smile at Jack he nodded. 

"Thanks, I'm running a little late." 

"No problem, you're new." Jack looked him over. "It happens. Easy to get lost around here." He nodded and extended a hand. "O'Neill." He said in way of introduction. 

"Gilmore." the man took his hand and nodded. "Yeah, tempus fugit." 

Jack looked at him in surprise. The Latin put him on alert. Who was this kid anyway? "Excuse me?" 

He looked at O'Neill with a slight grin. "Times flies." 

"Yeah, I know. Linguist?" 

"Actually ex-Marine." 

"Semper Fi." 

"Are you Marine, Sir?" The man looked at the military bearing underneath the civilian clothes and hazarded a guess. 

"Air Force." 

Gilmore looked at him inquiringly. "Oh, I'd been told this was a combined force." 

O'Neill nodded. "Yeah, it is. We also have Russians on board." 

The man looked surprised. "Really? How does that work?" 

"Barely." Jack smiled at his reaction, "but it does work." 

The elevator came to a halt at level three. "Thanks for holding the car for me, Sir. I have to go to a Newcomer's Briefing on this level." The door opened and the man began to step out into the crowded hallway. 

"What team will you be with?" Jack called out curiously. 

Gilmore turned and looked at him questioningly for a moment then answered. "Oh, actually, I'm here in the capacity of an Administrative Assistant to the Installation Commander. I'm medically retired from the Marines, but they said they wanted someone with a military background." 

Jack nodded. "That makes sense." He liked the idea of Doctor Weir having someone who could watch her six in a firefight. It would be one less thing for him to worry about as the Vice Commander. "Nice meeting you, Gilmore. See you around." 

"Yes, Sir. I'm sure we will." 

The elevator doors closed and the car proceeded on down to the eleventh floor where he had to change elevators. There he ran into Daniel who was carrying an armload of books. He had obviously been at the library that was located on level eighteen and had gotten side tracked off the lift here, not wanting to go to any farther up with such high level material. 

At Jack's appearance Daniel smiled warmly and O'Neill felt his heart lift at the sight of the other man's welcoming expression. "Hey." 

"Hey, yourself." Jack reached to take some of the books from Daniel. 

"Just in time for the briefing." Daniel allowed Jack to remove several of the weightier tomes from his arm, coincidentally managing to make hand-to-hand contact in the transfer. 

"Really. What briefing would that be?" 

"Something big is going on but we haven't heard any particulars. Doctor Weir has called a meeting of all the department heads and team chiefs." He tilted his head back and scrunched his nose trying to move his glasses back further on his nose. 

Jack assisted him by shifting the newly acquired books to his left hand and then gently, carefully using his index finger one his right one to push the frames back up onto Daniel's bridge where they belonged. His lover responded by quickly kissing the fingertip as it wandered down to his chin. Jack smiled sappily in response, then cleared his throat as the elevator door slowed then stopped at level nineteen. Sam and Teal'c stepped in the open door and looked at them in surprise. 

"Sir! Welcome back." Carter smiled happily as she stepped in. She nodded at Daniel who smiled back at her. 

"Indeed, O'Neill. I am most pleased to see you back with us at the SGC." Teal'c continued her thought as he followed her in. 

"Well, I figured I'd better get back to my team before I got put on inactive reserve." He nodded, accepting their pleasure as his own 

"And your timing is impeccable as usual," Carter continued. "Doctor Weir just set this meeting up this morning before lunch. I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you there." 

"That's what Daniel was telling me." He looked questioningly at his people. "Kinda sudden wasn't it? I thought I was going to see Warner first, but I guess that'll have to wait until after the meeting. 

Carter nodded. "Doctor Warner will probably be there anyway." 

"We believe that Doctor Weir has just received some important news this morning." Teal'c picked up the thread. 

"Yes, Jack." Daniel said excitedly. "SG-13 has been finding some exciting information there at the room of the Ancients in Antarctica." 

"Really? Do I have time to change?" Jack looked down at his black leather jacket, turtleneck sweater and jeans. "Sounds like I may be a bit underdressed for this." 

Carter nodded. "You've got about thirty minutes, Sir. I think that would be a good idea." 

Jack nodded, and glanced at Daniel. The younger man nodded at his questioning look. "I brought in some of your clean BDUs when I knew you'd be coming in, Jack. I thought you'd like to have a fresh uniform when you made your first official appearance." 

"Thanks, Daniel." He replied, "I appreciate the thought." 

Daniel grinned back at him and winked. "Just don't get used to the service...you couldn't afford the price I'd have to charge." 

"Yeah, I know what you make per hour. You're way too expensive for me." 

The elevator dinged to a stop at level twenty-two. Carter and Teal'c stepped out. "We're going to grab something to eat before the meeting, Sir. See you there." 

As the elevator doors close, Jack turned to smile and twitch his eyebrows at Daniel. "Wanna help me change clothes?" 

Daniel chuckled. "No, have to go to the briefing room with these reference materials for SG-13. They've got to go back tomorrow and they'll need this information." 

"You'll make my frond hurt with all this work Doctor Jackson." Jack smiled at him. 

"Just as long as your cruvi aren't bothering you." The younger man chuckled. "I have plans for them later." 

"Oh, and it involves my cruveses?" 

"And your rachis and your posterus." Daniel continued with a grin. "But be careful around Doctor Weir, she speaks six languages and I think that Latin is one of them." 

"Ah, no dirty Ancient talk...I got it." Jack leered at his lover. "I'll behave if you will." 

"Well, we can only try...though with you back and so close, it'll be hard to concentrate." 

"Go to your happy place, Danny." 

Daniel glanced at the elevator level indicator to be sure it would continue moving then leaned forward to plant a kiss on Jack's smiling mouth. "I'm all ready here." 

finitum


End file.
